Nov. 6, 2013 - 10:21AM
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More than 30 national and local veterans’ groups reported some form of theft, embezzlement or financial misconduct, typically involving employees or organizers, according to a search of annual tax disclosure forms from not-for-profit organizations.

The tax forms from 2008 through 2012 were provided by The Washington Post, which it published in October in a first-of-a-kind searchable database of information on not-for-profit groups.

While the dozens of local groups identified represent only a small fraction of veterans’ charities nationwide, the documents offer a rare look at the problems posed by poor oversight and lax accounting at some tax-exempt organizations that have substantial operating budgets and fundraising activites.

For example, AMVETS, a Florida-based charity, acknowledged that an employee wrongfully took more than $23,000 in 2011. The group said “legal action was taken against him” and stricter accounting policies were adopted afterward. Other examples found in the database:

■ The National Guard Association of South Carolina reported in 2009 that its auditors identified more than $32,000 in unauthorized disbursements.

■ A woman who ran bingo games for the Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary in Del Rio, Texas, was accused of stealing money in 2011 and was investigated by local authorities.

■ A VFW office in Kentucky reported in 2008 that more than one employee was fired for theft, and one of those employees ended up in prison.

■ The National Veterans Foundation in California reported that, in 2012, an office manager was discovered taking cash kickbacks from a vendor in exchange for letting that firm overcharge the foundation for services. The total amount involved was not disclosed.

■ A VFW post in Austin, Texas, fired its quartermaster, the only paid employee, in 2011 after learning that money was missing from a fundraising sweepstakes.

■ Also in Austin, an American Legion outpost fired its unpaid financial officer after learning about a “theft of funds.” The amount was not disclosed.

■ A VFW post in Kingsley, Pa., reported a theft of “over $20,000,” and an investigation in 2011 led to charges brought against the group’s bookkeeper.

■ An American Legion post in Bristol, Conn., reported in 2011 that its financial manager was prosecuted for allegedly “misusing funds.”